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“In the entire world there are only a few sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded. One is the murmur of a kitten purring. Another is the thwack of a well-pitched baseball hitting a perfectly swung bat. And the third is the pop of a cork being pulled from a bottle of wine.” —George Taber

jimjacks66

Horrible CT reviews on this vintage and prior vintages. Folio Partners is somehow related to Mondavi but that does not make it necessarily good. I am passing. Maybe I will get a negative quality post for this. Just my initial thoughts.

lassow

jimjacks66 wrote:Horrible CT reviews on this vintage and prior vintages. Folio Partners is somehow related to Mondavi but that does not make it necessarily good. I am passing. Maybe I will get a negative quality post for this. Just my initial thoughts.

The CT reviews are mostly around the mid-80s. Far from horrible, but far from clicking the large button.

gkarrish

It was a very pleasant surprise to find that I'd been chosen as a lab rat! This is my first time, and some small, paranoid part of my mind had wondered whether the selection process was fixed; unless WineDavid is about to hit me up for a post-hoc bribe, my suspicions have been laid to rest. But I digress... on to the wine!

On first pour, the Malbec appeared a translucent garnet color. Its nose was very subtle, and I couldn't detect much except for a hint of acid. Upon popping and pouring, I could taste some sweetness and some acid, but not a lot of complexity. It was a bit warm but not too hot. After 30 minutes it was beginning to acquire some depth, with what might have been floral notes. By 60 minutes it was filling in at the mid-palate with red fruit.

I sipped it on its own, and with a meal of pasta with spicy marinara sauce and fried-garlic pizza. This wine paired well with my meal, as the acid from the marinara was echoed in the Malbec.

To expose my own bias, I tend to favor big, bold red wines with a tannic backbone, which this wine is not. This doesn't strike me as a wine to cellar for the long term, but it would benefit from a little bottle time and/or significant aeration. Having lurked around wine.woot for a while, it seems that having an Argentinean wine (or any international wine) is something of a rarity. At this price point you can't go far wrong. I hope you've found these notes helpful!

jimjacks66

jimjacks66 wrote:Horrible CT reviews on this vintage and prior vintages. Folio Partners is somehow related to Mondavi but that does not make it necessarily good. I am passing. Maybe I will get a negative quality post for this. Just my initial thoughts.

Ok. I may have been too critical in my first post which oddly enough qualified as a quality post. I agree with "Lassow" that CT does not have horrible notes. I love Malbec and at $10 per bottle this may be tempting, possibly. Will await further lab rats.

kpailes

This is actually a fascinating wine. It's made in Argentina with the country's seemingly dominant grape (Malbec), but what makes it so unique is that it is created using very old Italian techniques and I believe the blend includes the Corvina grape.

Woot, can you verify that this is a blend that includes Corvina?

Corvina is the grape of love, romance, and one of the best wine varieties ever made: Amarone! Every good man buys his love a bottle of Amarone once a year, for it is the king of wines in Verona, the hometown of Romeo and Juliet.

If you can't afford a big bold Amarone, then you've probably at least had a nice Ripasso. Ripasso is that special variety of Valpolicella created when the vintners (re)pass a Valpolicella Superiore over the dried raisiny remains of Corvina grapes used to make an Amarone. The result is a table red with the darker, more complex character you would expect from dried fruit.

So think about it now: "Passo Doble". It's a clever New World twist on a classic Old World tradition. The fact that they actually grew the hallowed Corvina grape in Argentina with this in mind is just the kind of creative twist on tradition that should be applauded. Despite its South American label, if you are an Italian wine fan, you will enjoy this one.

I enjoyed the 2009 when I tried it this Summer, and this price (under $10/bottle) makes it a slam dunk for a darker table wine, but sadly I'm in Texas and well, you know the rest of this sentence already.

jimjacks66

kpailes wrote:This is actually a fascinating wine. It's made in Argentina with the country's seemingly dominant grape (Malbec), but what makes it so unique is that it is created using very old Italian techniques and I believe the blend includes the Corvina grape.

Woot, can you verify that this is a blend that includes Corvina?

Corvina is the grape of love, romance, and one of the best wine varieties ever made: Amarone! Every good man buys his love a bottle of Amarone once a year, for it is the king of wines in Verona, the hometown of Romeo and Juliet.

If you can't afford a big bold Amarone, then you've probably at least had a nice Ripasso. Ripasso is that special variety of Valpolicella created when the vintners (re)pass a Valpolicella Superiore over the dried raisiny remains of Corvina grapes used to make an Amarone. The result is a table red with the darker, more complex character you would expect from dried fruit.

So think about it now: "Passo Doble". It's a clever New World twist on a classic Old World tradition. The fact that they actually grew the hallowed Corvina grape in Argentina with this in mind is just the kind of creative twist on tradition that should be applauded. Despite its South American label, if you are an Italian wine fan, you will enjoy this one.

I enjoyed the 2009 when I tried it this Summer, and this price (under $10/bottle) makes it a slam dunk for a darker table wine, but sadly I'm in Texas and well, you know the rest of this sentence already.

Ramrod

Price is over $10 per bottle but shipping is probably the same as my local sales tax. The price point isn't calling me as klwines and beltramos are just down El Camino and carry great $10-$15 Malbec. its only $14 online, someone clue me in to the wootness of this deal

texacaliali

I have not tasted this particular Malbec (though I've had a few hundred in my lifetime). As for the Italian twist, I'm intrigued. A good Malbec is all about the fruit and shouldn't wear you down with a big oaky coat on the finish. I've met many Italian families in Argentina making wine, honest to God some of the best pasta & bread on the planet too. Many immigrated from Italy & Germany. Bonarda (a red varietal from Italy) was the most widely planted grape until Malbec madness took over about 10 years ago. A few facts I found online about the 2009 Masi from Uco Valley Mendoza...

The 2009 Masi Tupungato Passo Doble is a blend of 70% Malbec & 30% Corvina, the grape that is famous for Valpolicella and Amarone.

The addition of the Corvina adds roundness to the finish with some dried cherry notes and ripe tannins.

The Masi family of the name is best known as a producer of fine Amarone and Valpolicella from Verona in Italy, but they also produce this wine, so the use of Corvina reflects their centuries of expertise with the grape.

Reviews

Wine Spectator 88 Points

Briar and wild herb notes accent the racy plum and blackberry fruit in this medium-bodied red, as hints of tar and tobacco chime in on the solid finish.

DPrais

I know this wine well. in fact very well as I have a whole bunch of it in my cellar.

It is generally one of the best made Argentinian values around, and at this price it is an absolute steal. For those that don't know, Masi is one of the finest Italian producers, and they have brought their expertise to Argentina and are producing some of their best wines there now. Just don;t tell the Italians.

JJHACamp

First time LabRat. Was pleasantly surprised to get package in mail on Thursday.

Popped and poured with 2 friends Friday afternoon and decided to go with the Robert Parker point scale on the tasting. Brought wine home for wife to try later in evening.

So here goes:

Base Wine gets 50 points to start

Color and Appearance gets max of 5 points:

First reaction was that color seemed a little light for a malbec. Although we're all not novice wine drinkers, we couldn't remember ever having a Corvina...and that's 30% of this blend..our scores were either 3 or 4.

Aroma/Bouquet gets a max of 15 points:

At first I got a little leather and dried cherries on the nose but that seemed to dissipate over time. Reactions on aroma were not bad but not great...the words normal and average popped up...our scores were either 9 or 10.

Flavor/Finish gets a max of 20 points:

ok..here's the big category...for flavor we got (after some time) a little violets and blueberries..not much on the mid-palate...and not very malbec-ish at all...which makes some sense since the description seems to make this an Argentine version of a Ripasso-type wine...the finish was "rough" "metallic" with "a little sulfur". This started to even out a bit as 4 hours later when wife tried it, the finish was a lot smoother. Our scores were all 10s.

Overall Quality and Aging Potential gets max of 10 points:

This wine is very reminiscent of a typical table wine. It wasn't bad..and it wasn't great..not sure there's any aging potential at all. This wine is ready to drink now (and now that i see the price point for Woot...it's definately a drink now wine). we gave this 4 points.

So taking the high scores from everyone we came up with a 78 and i think the Parker description is right on for this wine:

"70 - 79:
An average wine with little distinction except that it is a soundly made. In essence, a straightforward, innocuous wine."

kat8480

I assume I am a “B” list Lab Rat. The wine arrived today and I have to review it for tomorrow. This may be the best job I’ve ever had.

Just as a point of reference I am a blue collar guy who enjoys a good glass of wine. I am partial to Californian reds mostly Cabs. I’m not impressed by the price of the wine more if I enjoyed it or not. My wife is out of town and my wine drinking buddy has a surprise party so with no advanced notice here goes.

I opened the bottle and immediately noticed the aroma was not very pleasant a little musty
I poured two small tastings, the second I poured through my Venturi (which I recommend to anyone). The first sip was very harsh to be polite. The Venturi glass seemed much smoother but still had to grind my teeth after the swallow; it’s bitter, but also soft to moderate tannins. I decided to cook dinner for myself and the kids while it opened.

Forty minutes later it’s a completely different wine. I can say the aroma is much more pleasant and the wine is smoother. As for berries and cherries I have no idea. It just became a smoother wine to taste. Clearly not a cab but let’s have a second tasting.
Dinner is complete and Shazam……the wine opened.

It’s been two hours since I corked the bottle and two completely different wines. When opened it was not very enjoyable, (I am being polite here). Now it’s become a smooth quite enjoyable wine.

As I stated I’m a Californian Cab man, I stick with what I like and wines can vary so much in price it’s hard to stray. Woot allows me to experiment from time to time. I don’t know the price point on this wine but if Woot offers it around $10-$12 it s worth trying something new. Not being a sommelier but having killed a few grapes in my time let this one decanter before serving you will happy you did.
Cheers!

yellowroe

Once again an non American wine and it isn't available for Texas. Tried to buy the Spain one and now this one. What gives???
Thought it might be decent for the price if Wine Spectator gives it an 88 too.

jonstrib

A very nice honor to receive my second Lab Rat assignment. My first review was in 2007 for the Calistoga CS offer, before Cheron was packing the reports. I have tried and enjoyed many Mendoza Malbecs (Norton, Colome, BenMarco, Trapiche, Catena Alta, Pulenta, etc.) and was excited about the opportunity to try this offering.

As others have noted, this wine is 70% Malbec and 30% Corvina, a grape that was not part of the Malbecs I have tried-usually, other Malbec blends I have had are with other Bourdeaux varietals. The addition of Corvina here differentiates this wine from a "typical" Malbec.

The Masi was poured into a Reidel Bourdeaux glass and paired with a spagetti with meatball casserole. The color was a reddish violet, not as purplish or dark as other Malbecs. On the nose was red fruit and some briar. The flavor was a bit disjointed and rough with more red fruit dominating and not much compleixty. using the Vinturi assisted in bringing both the nose and palate into more integration and allowed the underlying aromas and flavor to develop. At that point, more cedar, plum and tar was detected and there was more balance. The relatively low alcholol and the pH level in addition to the Corvina allow this wine to pair nicely with more Italian-based dishes (as opposed to a big, flavorful grilled ribeye).

Over time and post-meal, the wine held together for a while and the finish was smoother than initially-although not that long. More plum, cinammon, tobacco and sour & black cherry were now prevelent.

For people new to Malbec, I would suggest buying several different Mendoza wineries with either as a single varietal or a more traditional blend as well as this Masi so you can experience the different profiles. This particular wine is a bit different than a standard Malbec-not a bad thing at all, just another style.

As the offer does not come to my state, I cannot purchase the offer (interesting I could get the Lab Rat sample, WD-probably because it was coming from Woot not the winery). The QPR is in line but my own prefence is to generally not overload on any particular wine/winery. For those experienced Malbec people, this wine affords a unique twist.

richardhod

kylemittskus

isaacsgnj wrote:woot lover trying to be a wine.woot lover but I so often see low scores for your wines on Cellar Tracker - for instance:
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=951376

First off, take CT for what it is. A bunch of random tastes' opinions. Unless you follow specific tasters (like many of us do here) whose palates you know and understand, it's really kind of pointless.

Second, "so often"? I say, "Nay!" to your hyperbole.

Third, I'm passing. Paso trip next weekend.

"If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine." -Rainer Maria Rilke

"Champagne is a very kind and friendly thing on a rainy night." -Isak Dinesen

candlesticky

DPrais wrote:I know this wine well. in fact very well as I have a whole bunch of it in my cellar.

It is generally one of the best made Argentinian values around, and at this price it is an absolute steal. For those that don't know, Masi is one of the finest Italian producers, and they have brought their expertise to Argentina and are producing some of their best wines there now. Just don;t tell the Italians.

I agree. My son works in a rather upscale restaurant with a busy bar business, and have enjoyed Masi many times there (though not this particular selection).

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